The Other Smoke

I cannot possibly be the last cigarette smoker out there. I agree that American cigarettes are terrible things. I stopped smoking them years ago. Unless there is a brand out there I do not know about, American Spirit aside. I am more interested in reviews on rolling tobacco, as I have been rolling my own for about five years now. Once in a while I will divert to another brand from my mainstay, but I always come crawling back to Drum. It has a good taste in my opinion and smells nice as well. I have also tried zig-zag (shredded cardboard) in all its forms, bali-shag (too strong for me, but very tasteful) and American spirit (dries out within hours of opening the pouch and smokes poorly with a clay in pouch humidor). I have also smoked Bugler Pouch, Midnight Express, Top and Kite. I honestly have no idea how any of the aforementioned companies are still in business, as it seems to me they have been raking the yard and emptying it into baggies for retail.

Basically, I would like to know of other tobaccos all of you may have tried, and what you thought. I am keenly interested to find out about actual European blends and brands. For some reason I have always thought that the perfect blend lay in a smoke shop in Denmark.

Anyone?

"Babies belong in this lake, go ahead, throw him in!" said the Baby Eating Monster that lives in the lake.

Don't listen to those who would water down ahhh burn up the true history of absinthe, rather research the facts to determine the significance of the Green Fairy. Those who can't do it themselves, get their kicks trying to undermine those who can.

Poor:Drum, Top, Bugler, etc., are all less than good. Apparently the European version of Drum is much nicer, but I just got that by word of mouth.

Bali Shag does a medium and a light, as well as a Turkish. McClintock Light is nice as well.

My favorite RYO is Ramback Turkish; it's not Balkan Sobranie, but may be the next best thing. You can get it at cigarettetobacco.com along with a bunch of other great cigarette tobaccos, including some really nice perique.

Cigarettes: my brand is Camel (lights), I particularly like Turkish Silver and Turkish Royal. I also like the more authentic Turkish cigarette brands such as Turkish Specials and Jockey Club.

Loose tobacco: McClintock, Samson, and Drum. Bali is okay, but I find the flavour to be a little too strong. I think the overall flavour of the roll-your-own cigs also depends on the paper you use...some of the rice paper Rizlas are very light (and slow-burning) compared to the regular papers such as Drum and Samson.

"We're organisms; we're conceived, we're born, we live, we die, we decay. But as we decay we feed the world of the living: plants and bugs and bacteria".~ Dr. B. Bass (forensic anthropologist)

I have been smoking Peter Stokkebye tobacco for about a year now. I have tried all of these flavors and like them all. I have been smoking mostly the Norwegian Shag only because its taken me 8 months to get through on large can. I did find a small can of Amsteram Shag at the tobacco shop and used that for my tobacco this weekend.

I was able to sample them all when I purchased 1 oz. samples from my favorite tobacco shop in downtown Charleston.

"The less I behave like Whistler's mother the night before, the more I look like her the morning after." ~ Tallulah Bankhead

All the way through college I smoked Drum Lite. Then the company changed hands and they stopped making it or at least they stopped selling it in the US. It seemed like the regular Drum was not as good as it used to be either, but I never smoked that stuff too much so I don't really know. I tried a few others but I never found one I liked so I ended up quitting smoking. All the better I suppose.

My first smoke was a Marlboro red. I found a whole unopened pack on the sidewalk when I was 14. Never looked back. If I didn't smoke six or eight a day I would greatly enjoy a richer mix like Bali Shag or Samson, they are just to strong for a junky like myself. Perhaps I enjoy the Drum as it is now because it has more burley and birdseyes in it to mellow it out. I would love to try some of that Peter Stokkebye. I will have to go to a finer establishment that the Gas 'n' Gulp, I fear.

"Babies belong in this lake, go ahead, throw him in!" said the Baby Eating Monster that lives in the lake.

I started smoking by rolling my own at a tender age. My favorite was MacDonald's Export A's. A Canadian brand that comes pre-rolled as well. I remember frequently having a blistered lip, but it was the only brand I'd smoke.

Now I'm trying not to get back to the habit. Pneumonia last winter put the cure on in an unmistakable way. But the habit keeps calling to me and I go through periods of dipping in to a few cigarettes a day. Awful. And then three more days of withdrawl. Shite. Plus I'm turning into a fat, ugly fook without 'em. Yeah, I was ugly already but I used to be able to see my toes.

Have you tried Nat Shermans? They are from NYC- yes they are from the states, but are very tasty. If you live some where that doesn't tax cigarettes as badly as say Indiana or New York, buy them locally. Mail ordering from the Nat Sherman site will set you back $8 a pack. In Kentucky, it is about $6 ish. When in a larger city, you can find them at cigar/ fine tobacco shops and occasionally at a good liquor store.

Nat Shermans are just about the best package smoke I have tried, I cant justify paying $8 (Chicago Cost) for one pack when I can buy two or three pouches of a fine rolling tobacco for the same price. At 50 cigs a pouch thats quite a difference. If I was not given the choice of a pouch though, Nat Shermans all the way.

"Babies belong in this lake, go ahead, throw him in!" said the Baby Eating Monster that lives in the lake.

They are wonderful cigarettes. Even paying a little over $6 for a pack is really getting hard to justify. I keep telling my husband, a non- smoker, at least they are all natural, with no additives! That only goes so far. At this time I have only been consuming 1- 2 packs a week. (now after talking about it, I think that I need to go smoke one before they go stale... it may be a while before I get to bigger cities again.)NatShermansandaBlueMoon01.jpg71.06KB26 downloads

I love my Camel menthol wides. Premium turkish and domestic blend. and Turkish is the worlds smoothest, most aromatic leaf cause the pack said so, right on the back. RJ Reynolds wouldn't lie to me.

but seriously out of all the menthols Ive smoked(i dont smoke nonmenthols, regular flavor is most wretched.) Camel menthols are be far my favorite, though the new marlboro smooths are quite nice as an alternate. I don't smoke high premium brands, as 4$ a pack is more than enough for me, as I am quite a chain smoker sometimes(I'd give me left arm for someone to invent smoke proof music recording equipment) but it works out nicely, cause everyone at the studio all smoke the same brand, so we never really run out.

Premium turkish and domestic blend. and Turkish is the worlds smoothest, most aromatic leaf cause the pack said so, right on the back.

Turkish tobacco is one of my pet rants. It ain't what it used to be. Premium Yenidje tobacco hardly makes it out of Turkey Greece these days. Pre-1980s, burning cigarette tobacco actually smelled organic and fragrant, not like burning chemicals. No wonder anti-smokers are against it, I hate it too.

The Nat's that I smoke are not menthol, but actually are mint. Believe me there is a huge difference. They also claim to be additive free. So, they may be expensive, but I at least find them worth it. (I am also not a chain smoker anymore, making a pack last a lot longer then when I was 18!)

Only Hookahs for me. I'm glad I never picked up smoking cigarettes. Plus unlike cigarettes, smoking hookahs doesn't burn my lungs, the smell doesn't cling to my clothes or furniture and all around I enjoy the taste.